The HipHopCanada down-low on every act performing at Pemberton Music Festival [Article]

Calgary, AB – Your friendly neighbourhood HipHopCanada editors (Prairies Editor, @saroshrizvi and Associate Editor in Chief, @IHeartTART) are gearing up to trek over to British Columbia for the massiveness that is Pemberton Music Festival.

As last-minute giddiness sets in, we decided to break down every single act taking the stage at the festival this year. We took the list of performing artists and dished our thoughts. That’s right – we wrote about every single performing act; even the ones we’ve never heard of. Check it all out after the jump.

Nine Inch Nails

Sarosh: Might be the biggest band of my high school years I’ve never seen. Everyone who’s seen them (regardless of musical preference) raves about their live show. Geeked.

Sarah: I was a really angry teen and I listened to “Hurt” excessively as a means of really connecting with my angst. These guys are game-changers. This show is necessity.

Outkast

Sarosh: Andre will forever be a top MC and Big Boi will forever be the most criminally underrated. Legends. And I’m not one to use that term lightly.

Sarah: My childhood. Feelings. Other things. Refer to this post for more details.

Deadmau5

Sarosh: Not my thing… but maybe I’ll find out what all the fuss is about. Or maybe I’ll retire early that night and work on some HHC posts.

Sarah: Um. I’m not going to this show.

Soundgarden

Sarosh: I grew up amongst ‘90s grunge so they are vitally important, but they were the one band of that era I never really caught on to.

Sarah: I never listened to Soundgarden.

Frank Ocean

Sarosh: One of the keys to the R&B renaissance of the last few years and as bold an artist as they come. Have a feeling his live show translates, too.

Sarah: Hey boys. I’m going to weasel my way to the front of the crowd for this set. And I’m going to be reduced into a puddle of mushy emotions. So if you serenade me during “Thinkin’ ‘Bout You,” we can definitely kick it.

Kendrick Lamar

Sarosh: King Kendrick. K-Dot. Too many people I know have seen him live and I’m jealous. Universally acclaimed for his live show and my favorite MC in the game. Monster.

Sarah: Rap god. Top-tier MC. good kid, m.A.A.d city is the new rap bible. Also, I have a t-shirt with Kendrick’s face superimposed on to a llama and it says “Kendrick Llama.” One of my goals has been to wear this shirt to a Kendrick show. The dream is real. It’s happening. The shirt will be worn.

Metric

Sarosh: Part of the wave of newer rock music I need to know more about. Good feelings on them.

Sarah: Emily Haines is a goddess. Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? was essential during puberty.

Modest Mouse

Sarosh: The epitome of stoner rock. So necessary.

Sarah: I had a really massive Modest Mouse phase.

Above & Beyond

Sarosh: Know virtually nothing going in. Good sign is their top hits on YouTube are all for full set. Going up against Kendrick, though…

Sarah: I have never heard of Above & Beyond.

Empire of the Sun

Sarosh: I’m expecting elaborate costumes and happy synth-pop. Would be a shame if the sun isn’t shining during their set.

Sarah: I used to work retail and the company made us play a lot of Empire of the Sun on our playlist. There’s this one song called “Walking on a Dream.” It is like fluffy angel food cake.

Snoop Dogg

Sarosh: Somehow I’ve still never seen Snoop perform. Don’t know how that’s possible. One thing to look out for: a good friend of mine says Snoop reminds him of my brother. I don’t understand… yet.

Sarah: Lots of really good feelings will happen here. A mix of nostalgia, marijuana, and everything in-between. Hope he performs some of that new ish. Also hope he doesn’t perform anything off Reincarnated (Side note: Lol at what Sarosh said. Snoop Sarm?).

St. Vincent

Sarosh: A Sled Island headliner I missed who everyone says is great live.

Sarah: I missed her at Sled Island because I was watching araabMUZIK run through his catalogue of EDM tuneage. Ugh.

Violent Femmes

Sarosh: Went through a little phase in the ’90s. Would ‘a been good to catch for that reason alone.

Sarah: Violent Femmes = When girls rip out each others’ weaves?

Baauer

Sarosh: Saw Baauer last year at Commonwealth in Calgary when he toured with Just Blaze. Fun show.

Sarah: The “Harlem Shake” dude.

Matthew Good

Sarosh: Sounds live just like he does on record. Tons of respect for this fellow Canadian.

Sarah: Matthew Good is pretty good.

Randy Newman

Sarosh: I have a picture of what I think he looks like in my head. That picture is of Kenny Rogers. That’s what I’m going on.

Sarah: Should I know who he is?

Rebelution

Sarosh: Great name.

Sarah: Terrible name.

ScHoolboy Q

Sarosh: A TDE staple and man beHind one of my favorite rap tracks ever. Plus, He’s a niners fan. Must be a solid dude.

Sarah: Gangster rap’s saviour. Sarosh is going to wear a 49ers jersey to this show and he is going to have a budding bromance with Q, as a result.

Gord Downie & The Sadies

Sarosh: Saw him with Tragically Hip at Woodstock ’99 (I’m old) and was thoroughly impressed.

Sarah: The Tragically Hip, or bust.

Lindsey Stirling

Sarosh: If I were to guess: solo folk-rocker.

Sarah: Who?

Minus the Bear

Sarosh: Is Indie Pop a thing? If so, Minus the Bear is that. One of the many ‘Oh, they’re that band that sings that song’ bands in the lineup.

Sarah: I thought Minus the Bear did the opening song for Friday Night Lights. I double-checked before publishing this. Found out they didn’t. Now they are dead to me.

The New Pornographers

Sarosh: After Neko Case cancelled her slot at Sled, promised Sarah Jay we’d check them out. That was before the schedule came out and they were up against Chance. She understands.

Sarah: Neko Case cancelled Sled Island so I ended up seeing Joel Plaskett Emergency in the pouring rain, instead. It was a great time. No one wore shoes. And it was splashy. Thought it was a win-win because Neko was going to be at Pemby. But I’m not missing Chance, under any circumstances.

Sloan

Sarosh: Classic Canadian rock you have seen at least five times by default if you grew up in Canada in the ’90s.

Sarah: Sloan is supposedly a thing. I never got in to Sloan.

Stars

Sarosh: A sneaky good band that might be a sneaky good live show.

Sarah: THIS IS GOING TO BE A GREAT. TAKE ME TO THE RIOT.

Best Coast

Sarosh: Ok. From this point on, I’m going in blind (for the most part)…

Sarah: This is some serious East Side versus West Side business. WHO IS THE BEST COAST?

Tyler, the Creator

Sarosh: Been on-and-off the Tyler bandwagon a few times, now. Currently on.

Sarah: TYLER IS ADORABLE.

Big Gigantic

Sarosh: Aren’t all bands that start with “Big” kind of arena rock-y? Wreck and Sugar make me say yes.

Tritonal

araabMUZIK

Sarosh: Great MPC sets. Hoping he goes more hip-hop than rave, but he’s impressive either way.

Sarah: Still salty that his Sled Island set was all EDM.

Delta Rae

Sarosh: Either a dance rock band with punk rock leanings, disguised under a country singer name. Or a female country singer that’s a lil bit rock n roll. See what I did there?

Sarah: Sounds really hip. Wear a flower crown.

Fucked Up

Sarosh: I don’t know. But they’ll be fun.

Sarah: “Yo guys. Let’s make a band name with the F-word in it because reasons.”

GRiZ

Sarosh: Latest of the late-night sets. Either I’ll be worn out after the Kendrick/NIN/Q trifecta or I’ll be up for anything.

Sarah: I love when cats mess with varied upper-case and lower-case letters in their stage names. sARAH JaY. Legit. Right?

Hey Rosetta!

Sarosh: Great name. Or I’m easily swayed by exclamation marks.

Sarah: Hey Sarah!

Kaytranada

Sarosh: Caught him at Hifi a few months back. We go way back now.

Sarah: Love his remixes. Love his face. And his body. HEISSOGOODLOOKING. Also, my brother says his sets are monstrous. My brother has good taste in music (Hi, Jacob! Or if we’re following suit of the previously mentioned act… Hey Jacob!)

Sarah Sussman is HipHopCanada's Associate Editor in Chief.
Sarah was born-and-raised in Calgary, AB. She is a freelance writer and photographer, as well as a 2013 graduate from SAIT Polytechnic's journalism program. She writes about hip-hop and fashion (and sometimes a combination of the two). She also manages a vintage clothing boutique on-the-side.
Sarah has written for The Weal, Where Calgary, Essential Calgary, and Our Alberta. Sarah started working with HipHopCanada in Jan. 2013 as Canadian Prairies Editor. She has been fortunate enough to interview some pretty cool cats, including Action Bronson, Ghostface Killah, Moka Only, Joey Bada$$, Mac Miller, Maseo (De La Soul), Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest), and more.
Twitter:@IHeartTART